About VillaSpain
Why Choose Villaspain?
We price per villa not per person, so you save considerable sums of money in comparison to many villa rental rates.You do not pay us more than a private advertiser and, in fact, we don't over price villas either, so all villas are competitively and fairly priced. Simply look and compare.Accuracy of information is always assured. We strive to provide you, within the villa details, a full picture of what you will be renting, by its description, a virtual tour and an extensive picture gallery, in order that you can make a more informed choice of villa. Our availability page is accurate to the second, so if a villa shows that it is available then it is. We do not charge per person admin fee on changes made to a booking, or early villa entry fee, or key collection facility for after hours arrival, which some firms charge. Neither do we charge an automatic damage fee per person booked irrespective of whether you accidentally damage something or not.Neither do we sell commissionable items like insurance, flights or car hire leaving you free to choose your best options.
All villas are privately owned and used by the owner at certain times of the year - not the commercially rented type that are never occupied by them - as owners have a pride in their own villa and we are there to ensure maintenance is upheld, and that our grading reflects the villa correctly. As we fully manage all the listed villas, from both the UK and on the ground in Spain, you can relax once the booking is made. We are not a villa owner's directory site, whereby you could suffer the possible consequences of incorrect availability charts, double bookings, non updated villa info or a non contactable agent/owner, or simply declined bookings. You can expect to receive from us a professional speedy service from the outset until your return home. Neither do we contract with agencies to secure unknown villa accommodation. We now only rent our own family, and a friend's, villas, as opposed to having rented many others villas for over 20 years in the area. We therefore have good local knowledge and offer a personal service. We have local back-up personnel support in the case of any issue arising, by friendly staff.One of the benefits of booking with us is that should any major failed service occur at any villa that is beyond any parties' control then we are invariably in a position to offer alternative accommodation, whereas parties booking with a restrictive portfolio, or just one property, will not have any options to offer alternative accommodation in the event a serious problem occurs at the villa during your stay.
Our system is foolproof in respect of double bookings, so we guarantee that any booking with us is securely booked when we have confirmed it.
Due to our local focus in this area should any major issue arise at a villa, you can be assured that we will do our utmost to resolve it very fast. Should any major failing at the villa occur, or acts of god intervene, we will do our utmost to re-accommodate you quickly without any fuss within our terms and conditions.Should major building works occur on an adjacent plot then we will advise you as soon as we are aware and seek to offer you alternatives options to minimise or eliminate the issue. (added 27 July, 05).We give unbiased grading of those things that you cannot touch and see at the villa including the contents of the kitchen cupboards, and the comfort of the sofa suite and bed mattresses.Cleanliness is critical and we engage not just a professional cleaner to prepare the villa for you, but also a supervisor controller to double check the villa after a changeover with further inspections periodically to check the villa generally.All our linen and towels are superior hotel white ware. No mixed matched linen, nylon or bobbly winceyette to frustrate you.We offer villa owners' discount to local car hire firm and have links to all major cheap flight operators for simple linking from our web site plus much more.Special low winter rates apply as well as discounts on long winter lets.You will not find us offering any accommodation that is outside of our control. We prefer to keep it simple, personal and local.
Luxury at affordable prices and consistent value for money is our philosophy. You will therefore not be overpaying for any of the accommodation offered at Villaspain where a simple click through inspection will testify, showing huge savings over large tour operators. On our website you will find clear and accurate descriptions of every property, together with an extensive picture gallery to enable you to make a more informed decision on your holiday accommodation.
At Villaspain you will also find impartial advice with our grading system that gives you a more informed view of the quality of furnishings & contents. See our FAQs page for a full explanation of our grading system.
Although we have been renting accommodation for over 15 years we are constantly improving the service we offer to all holiday-makers and to give impartial advice about the area, travel, and to the more economical choices when booking any service. Our aim is that you are pleased in all respects.
We operate a private business (sole-trader) that is not limited by any liability or guarantee, adding to your protection. We have also met with the strict requirements by our bankers to accept credit card payments. See below for information on security of payments.
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Meet the people
About the owner: Bruce GibsonBetween 1976 and 1997 major shareholder, chairman and MD of successful wine import company: HMCE bonded warehousekeeper and restaurant business in London. Having sold the businesses and retired has since run VillaSpain from 1994.
The buzz for me is always in trying to perfect the service given.
Other involvements include:-
Chief Executive of All4charities. All4charities.co.uk is a facilitator of extra funding for charities that is at no cost to any party. Raised nearly £10,000.
Appointed Trustee of The Sussex Beacon Charity in 2010 -2012
Cristina
Supervisor, has been with us since January 2004. Speaks fluent English, French & Spanish.
All villas are privately-owned and are used by their owners from time to time, hence why some are only available at certain periods in the year. They are all furnished and maintained to a high standard, otherwise we would not offer them for rental.
Whether you have booked our own personal villa or any other villa on our web site, we would want you to have a most enjoyable time and to enjoy the villa that you have chosen. All villas and their owners are known personally to us and that all comments in the details provided are as accurate as possible. Further, all comments made on the phone are impartial, as we would like you to return to the area and stay again in one of the villas we offer.
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Your Financial Security
Since it has become official that there is no ABTA protection for holidaymakers (see ABTA News for further information): how can you financially protect yourself when any ‘Limited Company’ can go into liquidation or an individual ‘Bankrupt’.SECURITY UPON PAYMENT
If you are concerned about security when paying for any accommodation rental to a private individual, or a limited company, then ensure you pay by credit card and that the sum payable is not less than £100 in any one transaction (does not apply to switch, Amex or other charge cards). At
Credit card protection against fraud applies to any nationality using any card, so using a card should always be the preferred choice of payment whenever purchasing any product or service from any person, firm or company.
VillaSpain do not charge if you can use a Visa Debit card. By using a Visa Debit you are protected with the Chargeback scheme, which offers similar protection under the consumer credit act of 1975.
The following is an extract from an article in the Sunday Times newspaper about security:
Question from consumer.
'Suppose I find a fantastic holiday with a company that isn't bonded and doesn't have a trust account'. 'What should I do?'
Sunday Times answer:
'Pay by credit card. Under the consumer Credit Act, you are entitled to a full refund on any amount over £100 if things go wrong. Liability is passed to the card issuer. The downside is that travel companies sometimes charge high rates of commission for credit-card payment. However, you don't have to pay the total amount by credit card. Just pay a deposit and, provided it is more than £100, you'll be fully covered'.
What the BBC Watchdog says on its website 04/08/05:
LIABILITY OF CREDIT CARD COMPANIES.
One advantage of paying for goods and/or services with a credit card, such as Access, Visa or Mastercard, is that if there is a problem the credit card company may be liable to the same extent as the supplier (section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974). Consequently, if you are entitled to compensation, you can withhold an appropriate sum when you come to pay your next credit card account.
Obviously, this is a far easier way of recovering compensation than suing the supplier for it. Note, however, that certain cards (e.g. Diner’s Club and American Express) are not covered by section 75 as they fall outside the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Section 75 Consumer Credit Act
For a credit card company to be liable, the cash price of the goods or service must be over £100 and under £30,000 and there must be a claim for breach of contract (or misrepresentation) against the supplier. If these requirements are satisfied, you then have a claim against the supplier and/or the credit card company.
Practically speaking it is advisable to complain first to the supplier as the supplier may deal satisfactorily with your claim (eg. by replacing defective goods or refunding the price). It is when a supplier is un-cooperative or insolvent that you should think about claiming against the credit card company.
The following is an extract from The Observer (2/11/08) cash section.:
It is reported also that even the use of a debit card is refundable using a little - known facility called Visa Chargeback. To make a claim using chargeback, customers must contact their card issuer, which then contacts the supplier's payment processing bank to reclaim the money. this means that even if a company goes into liquidation it is possible to reclaim money, as the claim is made against the company's bank, not the company itself. the claim can be made on any purchase where the goods or service are not provided - and not reliant on the supplier going bust. If a supplier goes into liquidation, however, customers need to apply for a Chargeback within 120 days.
In addition:-
Security using debit cards, as opposed to credit cards; The Observer article dated 29/3/09 by Liz Phillips and Lisa bachelor in the Cash section says; that even a visa debit card is covered by a little known “Chargeback” scheme, which offers similar protection to section 75. The article goes on to say that the “Royal Bank of Scotland is the only other banking group whose customers do not have Visa debit cards. It has plans to begin issuing these to its account holders, but not until the second half of this year (2009). Booking a holiday or paying for goods using an RBS or Natwest debit card” (not a credit card) “currently gives you no protection should something go wrong”.
VillaSpain says the article implied that consumers get more of a run around from the banks if you needed to claim a chargeback, so do persevere as the law is on your side even for use of certain debit cards.
What the Motley Fool (www.fool.co.uk) says about credit card use protection (4/8/05) on its website:
Did you know that many of the purchases we make using our credit cards are covered by the Consumer Credit Act? Essentially, Section 75 of this act says any purchase costing more than £100 and less than £30,000 is protected, meaning that consumers can claim from their lender should anything go wrong. Therefore, should you pay by credit card for something costing over £100 and your supplier goes out of business before you receive the item, or should the goods you buy prove faulty or have been wrongly described, you can claim for a refund via your card provider. This really is an excellent benefit, giving peace of mind especially for purchases such as holidays, which may be taken months after being paid for.
Villaspain says that even if you reserve accommodation by paying a deposit the year before you intend taking your holiday, then you are still fully protected under this Act, providing the transaction is £100 or more paid via a credit card
In addition should you purchase flight tickets and the operator goes out of business you can recover your costs of travel in full for the flight if you pay by credit card, providing the transaction is £100 or more paid via a credit card.
Your financial security is very important to you, and ourselves. Villaspain is the trading name of the owner who is Bruce R Gibson being a sole trader (private business) and not a Limited Company. As a sole trader Bruce has rented villas for over 17 years in Spain (over 27 years in UK rentals) and specifically in this particular part of the Costa Blanca, namely around Moraira to Calpe. Villaspain enjoys an excellent reputation in the area and with all our long term villa owner clients for which we give a personal service to, as well as hirers. Villaspain's bankers have always been the National Westminster Bank PLC who have known Bruce Gibson for over 30 years.
Your Personal Details Security
At VillaSpain we keep your personal information private and secure. We have created this privacy policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to maintaining your privacy. When you provide your name, e-mail address or other information to us, we use this information to personalise your property search. We do not sell or share any information, individual or aggregated statistics, to any outside entity (including our marketing partners).When you request assistance in selecting a rental property, we need to know your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, etc. This information allows us to contact you about available properties and to keep a record of your request. You will automatically be added to our mailing list and we may send you announcements about new properties or services via email. If you would rather not receive future mailings from us, you may indicate at the time of registration or unsubscribe in the future.
From time to time, we may undertake customer surveys in the form of a questionnaire in order to assess customer satisfaction in our service. Your participation allows us to serve you and future customers better. The success of our business hinges on how well we know our customers and your responses will be used for in-house purposes only.
Please also view our Terms & Conditions page for further information on the way we operate.
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ABTA - latest news
HOLIDAYMAKERS can no longer claim compensation if they lose money to a dishonest travel agent, the Association of British Travel Agents said last week. It claims this issue arises only very rarely, but the Office of Fair Trading has withdrawn approval for Abta's code of conduct as a result.Abta advises consumers to discuss financial protection with their travel company so that they are sure what they are and are not covered for.
News in Brief - Money Section Article in 'The Sunday Times' national paper 03/09/06
EX-ABTA legal boss gets four-and-a-half years for fraud.
Travel Weekly 17 March 2005 More details.
FOR DECADES the logo of the Association of British Travel Agents has been a rock solid guarantee to travellers: if the agent or tour operator went bust, Abta would ensure that the holiday-maker was refunded. Last week it emerged that those days are over: Abta can no longer afford its pledge and soon its stamp will stop being shorthand for total customer protection.
‘We have been kicked in the teeth by these payments. If we keep paying out, we’ll go under,’ said Abta spokeswoman Frances Tuke. ‘Abta will no longer pay out to the consumer if the retailer goes under.’ Between 20 and 40 Abta travel agents and tour operators go bust a year.
The changes are due to come into effect in the peak summer period and, although they were only mooted at a board meeting two weeks ago, they are almost certain to be passed at Abta’s annual general meeting in April.
'Abta’s latest move is extremely bad news for customers,’ said David Speakman, chairman of the non-Abta agency Travel Counsellors, which has its own customer protection fund. ‘Even if they book with an Abta agent, if that agent fails they will not get their money back.’
Abta’s decision is driven by the need to modernise the organisation. The move will allow it to cut the cost of membership for travel agents and tour operators, particularly online retailers which have until now been reluctant to join.
While admitting that the days of cast-iron protection are over, Tuke insists that there will be few occasions when travellers are left out of pocket. Only if the travel agent which went bust had taken money from a customer, but had yet to make firm bookings with the airline or hotel, would the customer be left unprotected. Once the trip has been arranged with the supplier and the customer has received a confirmation invoice, the supplier is obliged to honour the booking and payments made towards it.
Abta advises consumers to discuss financial protection with their travel company so that they are sure what they are and are not covered for.
Gemma Bowes Article in 'The Observer' national paper 05/02/06 Top of page
